The musings, opinions, thoughts, and complaints of a political minded Canadian citizen.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Slogans, Logos, and Thoughts: 4. Trent Wotherspoon

Trent Wotherspoon

Slogan: Forward Together

Initial Thoughts: Again, due to the similarities with Ryan's "Better Together" slogan, some of the impact is diminished with this slogan. However, despite the similarities, there are also some differences. Whereas Ryan's slogan suggests bringing people together, Trent's slogan seems to suggest more that no one will/should be left behind.

Perhaps I can explain that better. Trent's slogan more or less suggests that his approach to leadership would be to create policy that ensures that all people in the province move ahead in good times with no one left behind; whereas Ryan's seems to suggest more a bringing of people together to work together, Trent's is more about ensuring that everyone lifted up by government policy, as opposed to defining the way to achieve it.

Logo:

Initial Thoughts: One can debate whether or not the actual text of Trent's name is included in the logo, but either way, I've included, but will focus on the actual logo part more than anything else. The first time I saw this logo, I was actually blown away by it. Beauty in simplicity, I suppose. It's a good juxtaposition of Trent's initials, but of course, emphasizing the line that looks like a ballot check mark. So, while there's nothing to interpret, it's a very good logo.

Campaign Approach (Thus Far):

Trent's main approach has been to get across the province as quickly as possible and meet with members in many communities. Trent's also been quick to organize meetings of his own in various communities, as opposed to simply 'piggybacking' on already organized events. Like Cam, Trent has been hammering home some of his own personal story into the campaign, but has also been building on the reputation he has built inside the legislature; mostly by focusing, and at this point winning, the endorsement battle and garnering the largest amount of current and former MLAs from the Saskatchewan caucus on his side.

Final Thoughts:

So, despite similarities with words, I think we've argued well enough that Ryan and Trent's slogans are just different enough if you scratch behind the surface and try to glean meaning from the words other than their face values. But still, one can't help but feel the slogans have been diminished all round due to the similarities. As for the logo, Trent kept it simple and really knocked it out of the park; a very strong round of kudos to whoever designed it.

And finally, for his approach, Trent has been doing well with the battle for endorsements; especially when compared to those in and formerly of the Saskatchewan NDP caucus. Erin's garnered a lot of support from economists, and that list alone gives him the most endorsements; but in terms of elected or formerly elected officials, Trent is leading the pack.

However, like Ryan's approach, Trent is taking a less visible course at the moment by engaging directly with members. The only advantage he has in this approach is that with the fall session of the legislature coming, he'll be able to become more easily visible, and show the people he's met with what he's capable of inside the legislative chamber.